Opening credits roll to the music of The Kinks's song "Top of the Pops,"which begins with a flashy drum roll and the spoken words, "Yes, it's numberone, it's top of the pops!" (it's a song about the glory of going to the top ofthe record charts).

Credits end and action begins at:

INT. THE RITZ NIGHTCLUB, GREENWICH VILLAGE -- NIGHT

From the balcony level, we see a punk band roaring through a chaotic set,with the singer wearing only underwear, the bassist spitting beer in the air, thebass drum bearing the name of the band, The Amazing Graces. The crowdmoshes wildly in the front rows.

Two twentysomething pals, TONY ARMONICA and ALEX DARROW,watch the show from the balcony. Tony, a music journalist, is dressed a bitconservatively by rock standards, in a white shirt, beige khakis and with shorthair, sort of David Byrne-style. Alex, the black director of music sales chartsfor Big Hitz magazine, is wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a t-shirt with agreen comic book Spiderman on it.

The band ends its set with blaring feedback, and Alex and Tony file out withthe rest of the crowd.

TONY

Some gig, huh?

ALEX

Scorcher.

PAGE TWO

EXT. THE RITZ -- NIGHT

Alex and Tony walk from the Ritz in the Village amidst throngs of fans intorn jeans and t-shirts reading Husker Du, Soul Asylum, the Ramones andSST. The club's marquee -- "Tonight: The Amazing Graces -- Sold Out" --recedes in the background as Alex and Tony are seen (but not heard) chattingon the way to Tony's car.

The two get in Tony's Fiat and we see the post-concert street scene throughthe windshield from their POV.

TITLE CARD: Memorial Day, 1987

Tony drives off with Alex.

INT. CAR -- NIGHT

TONY

This time last year the bandmembers were office temps. Now they pack the Ritz.

ALEX

Actually, a couple of 'em are still temping, I hear.

TONY

They'd be top ten, if the charts were honest.

ALEX

So would R.E.M.

PAGE THREE TONY

Speaking of which, wanna hear an advance tape of R.E.M.'s new one? It's called "Document."

ALEX

Sure.

The traffic is stalled ahead in his lane, and Tony gets impatient, pulling intothe lane for oncoming traffic before rejoining his lane.

TONY

Fifth gear sure comes in handy.

ALEX

Man, you coulda got us killed.

TONY

It worked, didn't it?

ALEX

Sometimes I dunno about you. You're either really brave or really suicidal.

Tony slips in a cassette, and we hear REM's "It's The End of the World AsWe Know It" at medium volume as they small talk.

TONY

So how's the new job? Hear you're running the charts at Big Hitz, my alma mater.

PAGE FOUR

ALEX

Sucks.

TONY

Hear the magazine's still got a great dental plan: on your first day, they hand you a toothbrush.

ALEX

Oh, yeah.

TONY

One minute you're Alex the lowly researcher and the next you're in charge of the Hot 100. Did I miss something?

ALEX

Did I miss something? My boss, that Joe Montana guy, comes in last week real nervous and suddenly quits.

TONY

Like that?

ALEX

Like that.

TONY

No explanation?

PAGE FIVE

ALEX

No nothing. He gave up twelve years of seniority!

TONY

Why do you think he did it?

ALEX

Dunno. Maybe the pressure, the promoters. They're always like, "Gimme a top ten."

TONY

A what?

ALEX

A top ten number on the charts for their record. It's like, "Hey, Montana usedta give me a number for an advertisement or a few bucks."

TONY

[shocked] Really? That's sure not how they do it at Billboard or R&R.

ALEX

Well, this aint Billboard. And I'm getting tired of sending back the fifty dollar bills in his cassettes.

TONY

You mentioned it to the big boss, Sterling?

PAGE SIX

ALEX

It's always, "Uh, no time."

They stop at a red light and notice the high beams of the car behind them.

TONY

High beams. What a jerk. I wish cars had high beams in the back so I could retaliate.

A bus passes with a huge display ad reading: "U2 at the Garden, July 15." Tony tries to jot the date but his pen breaks.

TONY

You gotta pen?

ALEX

Here. [Alex hands him a novelty promotional pen with a tuning fork at the end.] Keep it.

TONY

You sure that's a pen?

ALEX

Yeah. A Buzzpen.

TONY

Buzzpen?

PAGE SEVEN

ALEX

The Buzz sends 'em out. It's a pen and a tuning fork and it buzzes.

Alex demonstrates, taking the pen from Tony and hitting the dashboard withit, causing a buzz. He hands the pen back to Tony, who writes down the dateof the U2 show.TONY

Tony arrives at Alex's apartment house in the west Village (on Ninth Streetoff Sixth Ave.) and parks the car.

ALEX

Here we are at my rent stabilized abode.

TONY

Is Susan staying at your place tonight?

PAGE EIGHT

ALEX

No, she's at hers. Hey, you gotta come upstairs; I just bought the campiest album of all-time: "The Tom Jones Fever Zone" LP from 1969.

TONY

"The Tom Jones Fever Zone"! [laughs] Where'd you get that?

ALEX

Rocks in Your Head.

Alex looks out the window and gazes briefly at a nearby car that hasautumnal leaf and flower droppings on its roof and hood (unlike all the othernearby cars).

TONY

I'll come up for a few. But only if I can watch the Carson monologue.

ALEX

You got it.

Tony turns off the ignition but the R.E.M. tape continues, now playing theominous "King of Birds."

ALEX

Y'know, we oughta connect for Bowie at the Meadowlands next week. I've been looking forward to it since --

PAGE NINE

Alex is interrupted by someone with a ski mask at his window who raises arevolver; Alex quickly rams his door into the gunman and runs for his lifedown 9th St. The gunman drops his gun and is briefly knocked aside by thecar door but recovers his revolver and chases Alex at top speed. The gunmanhas a slight limp that doesn't slow him a bit. Tony runs after the gunman, whois far ahead of him.ALEX (running)

Shit! I'm dying already!

TONY (running after gunman)

Run, Alex! Don't look back! Run!

The gunman shoots once at Alex and misses, then shoots from a half-block'sdistance, blowing off part of Alex's left shoulder. Alex falls to the groundshouting in pain. The gunman runs toward Alex, bends over him and putstwo bullets in his head at very close range before running off into the deserted night. Tony watches in horror as he runs over to Alex's body and falls to hisknees. (In the background we see Tony's car, the doors open, the car's tapeplayer playing the droning ending of "King of Birds," with the lyrics,"Everybody hit the ground, everybody hit the ground.") He screams "Alex!"once, and the screen goes black.

CUT TO:

INT. POLICE STATION -- NIGHT

An overhead fan spins as Tony, sweaty and raw from the heat and the night'strauma, sits at a rectangular table in a dimly lit police interrogation room. Flies are buzzing and the air conditioning is out. The wall clock reads 11:50.

[Pulls up a chair noisily, looks down at the police report and says to Quail:] Looks like we have a 125, maybe a 125.27, and definitely a 240, a definite 120, a possible 460, but we have to know more. And we need to investigate the possibility of a 105. Got that?

OFFICER QUAIL

Yessir. How 'bout a 160?

DETECTIVE DALEY

No 160; no robbery involved. [He turns to Tony.] So what can you tell me? Did ya get a look at the guy who did it?

TONY

He was in a ski mask. Maybe six feet, 200 pounds, running with a sort of limp. But that's about it. [Tony swats at a fly with his hand.]

DET. DALEY

[Glances at a TV monitor with sound down on the wall.] Hold on: looks like something's on the news about the case. [He gestures to Quail to turn up the TV, and Quail quickly does so.]

A local news station is on the air with the words "Breaking News" on thescreen. An anchor appears.

PAGE ELEVEN NEWS ANCHOR (on TV)

This just in to the newsroom. At this hour, police are investigating the murder of a 23-year-old music industry employee in Manhattan. The victim -- whose name is being withheld pending notification of his family -- was reportedly chased down West Ninth St. and shot at close range by a person wearing a ski mask and gloves. We'll have more details on this as they become available. For now, our featurescorrespondent in Coney Island has an update on Clara, the panda bear who shocked her owner last week by supposedly speaking several complete sentences in French.

DET. DALEY

A talking panda bear. Now I seen it all. [He stuffs peanuts in his mouth and motions to Quail to cut the sound, which he does. He turns to Tony again.] So is there anything else you can tell us about what happened? Did he have any enemies that you know of?

TONY

None I know of. Though he did mention he was being pressured to acccept bribes at work. He ran the music charts for a trade magazine.

Daley jots notes, glances at his watch and seems not entirely interested in thecase. DET. DALEY

So there was pressure on the job but no real enemies that you know of. Okay, I think we have enough for now. We really have to break off here.

PAGE TWELVE TONY

Can I use the phone to call his girlfriend?

DET. DALEY

Sure. On the desk there. You can have the room to yourself.

[Daley and Quail leave the room and shut the door. Tony picks up the phone,dials Alex's girlfriend SUSAN ADLER and hears "hello."]

TONY (talking on the phone)

Susan, hi.

INTERCUT TO:

INT. SUSAN ADLER'S APT. ON WASHINGTON SQUARE -- NIGHT

[Susan, with long black hair and jeans, sits near a window overlooking thearch in Washington Square Park in the Village.]

We ran into a problem. Alex is gone. He's beenshot. I couldn't help him. [He bangs his fist on the table.] Dammit, I told him to run! I told him to run! [Tony breaks into tears and the conversation ends. Screen goes black.]

CUT TO:

TITLE CARD: Three Days Later

Tony, visiting several music industry executives as part of his investigation ofAlex's death, stops at a corporate office on West 57th St., the headquarters ofthe small Pacific Records label, whose president is STAN TILDEN.

INT. RECEPTION AREA OF STAN TILDEN'S OFFICE -- DAY

Tony pushes open the glass door (bearing the words "Pacific Records -- StanTilden, President") and approaches the RECEPTIONIST, a new wavelooking woman in her early twenties.

RECEPTIONIST

Stan's been waiting for you. Come in.

PAGE FOURTEEN

INT. STAN TILDEN'S OFFICE -- DAY

Tony walks into Tilden's office, which has a 25th-floor view of midtownManhattan and gold records on the walls. On one wall is a framed yellowedBillboard magazine clipping with the headline: "Pacific Signs BrendanSkye." Tilden, who looks a bit liked Harry Dean Stanton in his thirties, stillspeaks with a southeastern accent, a holdover from his North Carolinaupbringing, though he's a long-time New Yorker.

TILDEN

Glad you could come.

TONY

My pleasure.

They both shake hands and sit down.

TILDEN

I hear you're investigating Alex's murder. Any idea who did it?

TONY

Not yet. [Tony takes out his tape recorder and puts it on his desk.] Mind if I record this?

TILDEN

No, go ahead.

TONY

Alex told me he had had lunch with you the day he died.

PAGE FIFTEENTILDEN

We did. He was scared that day.

TONY

Of what?

TILDEN

Look, Tony, I want this so far off the record we're in Guam, hear?

TONY

Okay, we're in Guam.

TILDEN

[pause] Alex told me the pressure was getting to be more than he could bear. Promoters wanted to buy their way to the top of the charts. [Lights a cigarette nervously.] I run Pacific Records, so I shouldn't even be talking to you. But I loved that kid. So let me put it this way: Let's suppose.

TONY

Okay.

TILDEN

Let's suppose promoters paid for a top ten position by overpaying for advertisements in the magazine. Y'know, placing a full-pager but paying double.

TONY

Just supposing.

PAGE SIXTEEN

TILDEN

And suppose everybody before Alex, including Joe Montana, always took the bribes, but Alex didn't.

TONY

Who was pressuring him most?

TILDEN

I don't name no names. But it can be figured out. Just look at who was taking out advertisements in the weeks before the murder and see if the advertised record got a number in Big Hitz that was higher -- substantially higher -- than the honest number in Billboard.

TONY

But Big Hitz and Billboard have different reporting stations, don't they?

TILDEN

Not that different. Also, look at the Big Hitz number for the advertised record the week Alex took over compared to its number during the last week Montana worked. In other words, look at the charts the first week the bribes weren't happening. Just supposin' now.

TONY

But how do you connect the ads to any one person?

PAGE SEVENTEEN

TILDEN

The promoter's name is listed at the bottom of the ad. That's your man.

TONY

Alright tell me this: why would a singer pay to get on a chart everyone knows is rigged?

TILDEN

'Cause not everyone knows it's rigged. A high chart number in any trade's a huge boost. See, Big Hitz may be out to lunch, but it's out to lunch in 17 countries and Puerto Rico -- the only trade besides Billboard that'sworldwide. So promoters'll pay $10-$15 thou per record.

TONY

It's that serious?

TILDEN

Someone's dead, aint they? You tell me. [He gets buzzed by the receptionist.] Look, gotta step. But good luck with finding out who did this. By the way, how's Brendan?

TONY

He's fine. Still managing Custer.

PAGE EIGHTEEN

TILDEN

I'm glad I signed Brendan back in '79 but his record just didn't sell. We did everything we could. I really wish him well in management. And I always tell him, if he ever runs into any financial trouble to call my brother Paul on Wall Street.

TONY

Thanks for your time. [He takes his tape recorder and puts it in his bag.]

Tony walks through the reception area (the receptionist waves sweetly),opensthe glass doors and walks out into the waiting area for the elevator.

INT. ELEVATOR WAITING AREA -- DAY

Tony waits for the elevator and is abruptly approached by an absurdlyFEARFUL GUY in his forties wearing slightly ridiculous cloak-and-daggergarb, his collar pulled up and a hat pulled down.

FEARFUL GUY

[Comically nervous] Are you that reporter asking about the murder?

TONY

I'm a reporter, yeah.

FEARFUL GUY

Well, I'm Calvin Hoover, indie promoter. And I know the secret story behind the Darrow murder. [Looks around furtively.] It was a mistaken identity hit.

PAGE NINETEEN

TONY

How do you know that?

CALVIN HOOVER

The killer wanted to murder me instead. He mistook Alex for me.

TONY

[incredulous] You?! Are you serious?

CALVIN HOOVER

Yes, because I'm very outspoken, controversial.

TONY

Mr. Hoover --

CALVIN

Calvin.

TONY

Calvin, with all due respect, you don't look anything like Alex. I mean, you're white and Alex is black. Alex was in his twenties and you're not.

Calvin is startled by a loud ring from the elevator, which has just arrived.

CALVIN HOOVER

Oh, no! They're coming for me! I can feel it!

PAGE TWENTY

Calvin runs for the stairway and disappears.

Tony shakes his head, smiles and calmly boards the elevator.

CUT TO:

INT. POLICE INTERROGATION ROOM -- DAY

Tony sits down at the rectangular table, the overhead fan spinning.

DET. DALEY

So you're investigating the murder as a freelancer.

TONY

Yeah. Wondering if you have any leads yet?

DET. DALEY

Nothing that would've caused a bloody nose much less murder.

TONY

People in certain circles say it was music-related, he was killed because he refused bribes.

Everyone's pointing to a promo guy named Frank Buzzardi, nicknamed The Buzz.

DET. DALEY

[turns red in the face] Who?

TONY

Buzzardi. Three completely separate sources went out of their way to say he might be involved.

DET. DALEY

Who says that?

TONY

That's confidential.

DET. DALEY

[Trying to change the subject.] So did you know Alex well?

TONY

Oh, yeah. Met him right after I moved to Manhattan from Burbank.

PAGE TWENTY-TWO

Tony's face is seen in a tight shot, as he flashes back in memory.

CUT TO:

EXT. AERIAL VIEW OF SAN FERNANDO VALLEY -- AFTERNOON

We see vast stretches of deep suburbia, palm trees and lots of sunlight thatcontrast with the dim police station of the previous scene.

TONY [voiceover]

I came up in the San Fernando Valley suburbs, where my first real job was as a newswriter for the Los Angeles Chronicle.

EXT. THE L.A. CHRONICLE OFFICES -- AFTERNOON

Wide shot of the newspaper building and adjacent hotel (on Sunset Blvd. eastof Fairfax in L.A.). There's a sign saying: "Temporary Offices of the L.A.Chronicle" and a next door sign reading: "Mirage Motel: Weekly Rates."

CUT TO:

INT. NEWSROOM OF THE L.A. CHRONICLE -- AFTERNOON

A younger Tony (circa 1979) sits at his newsroom desk while an EDITORwith a serious sunburn, Barnum Wiggles, stands over him against a backdrop of loud overhead florescent lights.

EDITOR

Okay, no more daredevil stuff. I heard you chased the guy on trial for killing his wife -- the CEO of Palentine -- down the courthouse hallway, asking him repeatedly whether he had found the murderer of his wife yet.

PAGE TWENTY-THREE

TONY

I sure did. He always says he's looking for the killer and denies he murdered his wife. So I simply asked whether he had found the culprit.

EDITOR

Three times?

TONY

He didn't answer me the first two.

EDITOR

I guess it wouldn't mean anything if you knew he sits on the board of a company that was one of our biggest advertisers.

TONY

No, it wouldn't.

EDITOR

Look, Tony, the "without fear-or-favor" thing only applies to non-advertisers. We've got to fear and favor our boosters if we're going to stay in business. And if that's not okay with you, you're free to go to Greenwich Village [he pronounces it Green-witch] or some place.

TONY (voice over)

So I did.

PAGE TWENTY-FOUR

CUT TO:

EXT. AERIAL SHOT OF MANHATTAN SKYLINE -- AFTERNOON

The dramatic opening chords of The Cars's "Bye Bye Love" accompany anaerial view of midtown Manhattan that shifts toward the East Village. Thepanorama moves lower and lower toward the East Village as the songcontinues, gradually zooming to street level on the Bowery near BleeckerStreet.

TITLE CARD: The spring of 1979, the East Village.

EXT. BLEECKER STREET SIDEWALK -- DAY

Tony walks west along Bleecker Street from the CBGBs rock club.

The sidewalk is crowded with New Wave and Punk aficionados in their earlytwenties wearing wraparound shades, Fiorucci pants, and t-shirts with thenames of bands and clubs like Richard Hell, the Mudd Club, the Gang ofFour.

People are carrying copies of newspapers and fanzines like the New YorkRocker, the East Village Eye and the Soho Weekly News. We hear theTalking Heads's "City" as Tony, with a slightly spikey haircut and acharacteristically conservative button-down shirt, walks to the offices of theEast Village Eye.

EXT. EAST VILLAGE EYE NEWSPAPER BUILDING -- AFTERNOON

Tony walks into a building on Bleecker that has an East Village Eye sign inthe window; there's an incidental sign nearby reading "Tailors since 1919."

PAGE TWENTY-FIVE

CUT TO:

INT. EAST VILLAGE EYE NEWSPAPER OFFICE -- AFTERNOON

Tony walks through the loft offices of the Eye, which is divided by partitionsinto large cubicles adorned with rock posters, bumper stickers and buttons.

A young Alex is deep in thought, editing copy in front of a poster reading, "IfIt Aint Stiff, It Aint Worth A Shit" and "Nuke the Knack" as Squeeze's "Upthe Junction" plays from a turntable.

TONY

Mistah Alex!

ALEX

[Initially startled] My main man!

They high five each other.

ALEX

[Holds up a telephone message.] Message from Brendan Skye, that folksinger guy.

TONY

What'd he want?

ALEX

Says your glowing review landed him a record deal.

PAGE TWENTY-SIX

TONY

Really? With who?

ALEX

Pacific Records. He was signed by Stan Tilden himself. Might get the opening spot on the Steve Forbert tour.

TONY

Wow. Gotta call 'im.

ALEX

So who's on the cover, chief?

TONY

Toss-up: the Clash or the Records. Whatdya think?

ALEX

"Starry Eyes" is huge.

TONY

Yeah, but we've got a real Clash scoop: they're playing a secret benefit for the East Village Hunger Project.

ALEX

As part of their 30 nights or whatever at Bonds?

PAGE TWENTY-SEVEN

TONY

Separate. Nobody knows about it yet, not even the Soho Weekly News. I found out through a political source: Susan Adler.

ALEX

Susan Adler? Never heard of her.

TONY

She's amazing. She approached Joe Strummer cold backstage and convinced him to do the show for free.

ALEX

That's something.

TONY

She's something. She comes from old money in the Village but donates most of it to stuff like building schools in El Salvador. Lives right on Washington Square. We did a photo shoot of her with members of the Clash.

Tony takes out photos of a younger Susan with the band. Susan, dark-skinned and pretty, with a haircut like a campanile bell, smiles warmly in one picture. In another shot, she mischievously flashes the "v" sign behindJoe Strummer's head.ALEX

Hmm. I think I'm in love. [pause] Is that a conflict-of-interest? [They laugh.]

PAGE TWENTY-EIGHT

CUT BACK TO:

INT. POLICE INTERROGATION ROOM -- AFTERNOON

At the desk, with the overhead fan turning, Tony and the detective continuetalking.

TONY

Any other leads you can tell me about?

DET. DALEY

We're checking a witness who says she saw a male black running from the scene.

TONY

A black male?

DET. DALEY

Yeah, a male black, which would sort of refute your theory, right? It might just be some black guy who did it.

TONY

[slightly angry] What do you mean, 'just some black guy'?!

DET. DALEY

I'm just saying what the witness said. [Suspicious and going on the offensive a bit.] And by the way, how come you seem to know so much about this case anyway?

PAGE TWENTY-NINE

TONY

Shoe leather and phone calls, simple as that. [Stands up and pulls out a business card.] Here's my card. Feel free to call if you find something.

BRENDAN SKYE, a bearded mid-thirties former folksinger who nowmanages alternative rock acts for a living, opens the door.

They hug as sunlight streams at a late-afternoon angle.

BRENDAN

Am I glad to see you in one piece!

TONY

Same here.

Tony steps into the living room, which is full of light, plants, a couple cats,and a framed poster: "Brendan Skye Live at Folk City."

PAGE THIRTY

GENEVA MASON, wife of Brendan, comes in with a coffee cup that has aBarnard College decal on it; she has very short blonde hair and wears aPhranc t-shirt. The coffee is steaming and the air-conditioning is on. Sheembraces Tony. GENEVA

I'm so sorry about what happened. Are you okay?

TONY

I'm alright.

GENEVA

Have you seen Susan?

TONY

Not since I told her the news that night.

BRENDAN

Geneva's been visiting her just about every other night. Says she seems depressed.

TONY

I'm not. I'm angry. I wanna find out who did this.

BRENDAN

Be careful. For all you know, you'll be fighting 50 thugs.

TONY

50 thugs, 50 bullets.

PAGE THIRTY-ONE

BRENDAN

They'll come after you.

TONY

50 thugs, 50 bullets. Nobody's more powerful than a bullet.

BRENDAN

You're always taking too many chances, Tony.

TONY

That's what Alex said the night he died. He said I was either brave or suicidal, he hadn't decided which. [They laugh mildly.]

BRENDAN

Well, we have some good news amidst all the tragedy. Geneva?

GENEVA

I'm finally pregnant.

TONY

Congrats!

GENEVA

We've tried for years. Not that I've minded the trying.

She nudges Brendan affectionately.

PAGE THIRTY-TWO

TONY

What are you going to name him or her?

GENEVA

We were thinking Alex or Alexa.

TONY

Alex, Alexa: I like that.

BRENDAN

So you were saying on the phone you wanted to look at some charts?

TONY

Yeah, if that's okay.

BRENDAN

C'mon in.

INT. DEN OF BRENDAN'S APARTMENT -- LATE AFTERNOON

Brendan escorts Tony to his den, which is lined with bound volumes of musictrade magazines and books.

BRENDAN

My archive. Charts dating back to '53.

PAGE THIRTY-THREE

TONY

Do you have the Billboard and Big Hitz charts for the weeks before and after Alex died?

BRENDAN

I think so. Have a seat.

Brendan takes two bound volumes from the shelves; one is labeled"Billboard," the other "Big Hitz."

TONY

[flipping through the books] Just checking out a theory.

In Big Hitz, he comes to a cluster of advertisements. One ad reads: "'ColdSunshine' by The Pillagers -- National CHR promotion by Frank 'The Buzz'Buzzardi."

A ninety point drop in a week! Unbelievable! Where does Billboard put them?

Tony turns to the Billboard singles charts for the same weeks and finds thatboth of Buzzardi's songs, "Cold Sunshine" and "Always," were at #92 and#98, respectively, for both weeks.

TONY

Both Buzz songs are at 92 and 98 for both weeks in Billboard. Exactly where Alex put them, too.

Tony and Brendan hover over the charts excitedly.

BRENDAN

Shit almighty, Tony. You've gotta go to someone with this --

PAGE THIRTY-SIX

TONY

I know --

BRENDAN

'Cause this is like really --

TONY

I know. But the cops aren't listening to me.

BRENDAN

Figures. [lights a cigarette] Buzzardi has major clout with the Sixth precinct. Two uncles and a cousin on the force. One uncle wounded in the line of duty, retired with a gold shield, though it was later taken away after an investigation.

TONY

No wonder Daley sees no evil.

BRENDAN

The Feds don't care, either, 'cause the money's too small to make the radar. Buzzardi takes in thirty thou a year on chart-fixing, which may not be the hundred-thou DiSipio pulls, but it's not nothing. Particularly if it's everything he earns.

TONY

Why would anyone pay a promoter to buy numbers on a chart everyone knows is corrupt?

PAGE THIRTY-SEVEN

BRENDAN

Because not everyone knows it's corrupt. Big Hitz freshens up the front office with a name writer every few years to give them credibility, which covers them to run a back office sewer in chart fraud and coin op.

TONY

Tilden says Buzzardi had a key to the Big Hitz offices and their computer passwords even after he left the magazine.

BRENDAN

He did. And enforced things with threats, violence. He's openly violent and doesn't much care who sees it. He once tried to rip out the eyeball of a rack-jobber backstage at a Loverboy show in '83 in front of, like, seven people and a cop.

CUT TO (as the "Brendan voiceover" is heard):

INT. BACKSTAGE AT LOVERBOY CONCERT -- NIGHT

Buzzardi digs vigorously into the eyesocket of someone and a stream of blood squirts from the victim's face onto Buzzardi and all over the cold cuts and fruit on the backstage table as several people watch in horror.

BRENDAN (voiceover):

Only thing that stopped himwas the blood spurting allover his Brioni suit and everything. True story.

The sidewalk and street in front of CBGBs is packed with alternative rockfans in ragged garb and bizzers in hip suits. Sign on the door reads: "Closedfor Private Party."

Tony opens the door, hearing a blast of loud recorded music, and walks in.

INT. CBGB ROCK CLUB -- EVENING

Tony walks by numerous partygoers and hears fragments of conversation.

PARTYGOER WITH SQUEAKY VOICE

Such a buzz around Pointblank -- and Minneapolis.

PARTYGOER IN A "REPLACEMENTS" T-SHIRT

Not every Minneapolis band'll make it big. I bet Soul Asylum stays indie.

PARTYGOER WITH A MOHAWK HAIRCUT

[to previous partygoer] My ears are still ringing from their '85 show.

PARTYGOER IN A "REPLACEMENTS" T-SHIRT

[to previous partygoer] My ears are still ringing from Altamont.

PARTYGOER WITH A MOHAWK HAIRCUT

[to previous partygoer] Huh?

PAGE FORTY

PARTYGOER IN A "REPLACEMENTS" T-SHIRT

[to previous partygoer] I said, my ears are still ringing from Altamont.

PARTYGOER WITH A MOHAWK HAIRCUT

[to previous partygoer] Can't hear ya.

Tony continues to walk toward the club's stage.

PARTYGOER WITH A GOATEE

R.E.M. will never have another hit as big as "Fall on Me" -- they've peaked.

PARTYGOER IN A TURTLENECK WITH AFRO

Sifo Mabuse is giving a benefit against apartheid.

PARTYGOER WITH BLONDE HAIR

[to previous partygoer] Great cause, but it won't do any good. Apartheid has about as much chance of falling as the Berlin Wall or the twin towers.

PARTYGOER WITH A LISP

The drummer's not so smart. He was at 21 and a waiter asked if anyone knew the Heimlich Maneuver. He goes, "Yeah" and gives the Nazi salute. [demonstrates stiff arm salute]

PAGE FORTY-ONE

PARTYGOER WITH LONG BEARD

[to previous partygoer] You just don't understand his creative tension.

PARTYGOER WITH A LISP

[to previous partygoer] There's a fine line between creative tension and just being uptight.

Tony steps to the bar and orders a beer. JIM JOLSON, A&R vice presidentfor a major label, approaches with THREE MEMBERS OF A ROCK BANDin their late teens. JOLSON

Tony, you gotta meet these guys. This is Kurt, Krist and Chad of Nirvana. I'm thinking of signin' 'em.

TONY

[to band] You guys done any records yet?

TEENAGED KURT COBAIN

[Shyly] We'll have one out next year on Sub Pop, an indie out of Seattle. They released Green River and stuff.

THIRD PARTY TO CONVERSATION

[to band] Advice: move out of Seattle, if you wanna make it big. Nobody but Heart ever came from Seattle.

JOLSON [to Tony]

Check this out.

PAGE FORTY-TWO

Jolson shows Tony a Pointblank promotional water pistol that publicists arepassing out at the club.

TONY

Another schlocky promo toy.

Susan Adler, wearing sunglasses that don't quite cover the fact that she's beencrying, walks quickly into the club and heads toward the cul de sac to the sideof the stage. Heads turn and people talk as she walks in.

JOLSON

Look who just walked in: Sue Adler.

TONY

Gotta go.

TONY

[waves to get her attention] Susan!

SUSAN

Hi Tony. How's your story going?

TONY

Lots of leads I'll tell you about later.

SUSAN

Wanna get together and trade notes?

PAGE FORTY-THREE

TONY

How about tomorrow?

SUSAN

Great.

Suddenly, a partygoer jokingly jumps in front of Susan with his water pistoldrawn. Susan reflexively kicks him in the groin.

SUSAN (to prankster)

You motherfucker! Comin' at me with a gun!

The prankster holds his crotch in pain as a small crowd begins to gather.

TONY

It's a toy, Susan, only a toy.

Susan walks briskly to the exit, with Tony a distance behind her.

EXT. CBGB -- NIGHT

Susan climbs into a cab on the Bowery. Tony knocks on the car window andSusan lowers it.

Tony walks past a group of six jugglers passing balls to one another and aguitar player performing near Washington Square Park before crossing toSusan's apartment house.

INT. SUSAN'S APARTMENT -- MORNING

Susan's apartment is decorated with a hip old money sense of good taste. Thelarge living room window has a third floor view of the arch in WashingtonSquare Park. An original Warhol portrait hangs on the wall.

Represented downtown Manhattan for one term. He once told me, "A congressman is less powerful than a file clerk, if you're not the party in power."

TONY

Probably true. [pause] By the way, sorry about that guy last night --

SUSAN

Forget last night.

TONY

So you doing alright?

SUSAN

I miss Alex and my life the way it was. Otherwise, I'm fine.

TONY

Same here.

SUSAN

I've even thought about seeing a shrink but don't think so. Shrinks always seem less perceptive than me.

TONY

Yeah.

PAGE FORTY-SIXSUSAN

Didja see the new Billboard? Some guy calls the murder "music-related"?

TONY

You're kidding?

SUSAN

No, it quotes someone saying, [she reads from the article] "'We will not hide from music-business related terror,' said a senior executive who spoke on condition of anonymity."

TONY

My sources say it was hit, too. But who ordered it? Did Alex mention any threats?

SUSAN

Come to think of it, there were quasi-threatening messages on his answering machine.

TONY

Like what?

SUSAN

Like, oh, things you can't really put your finger on. Like: [she imitates a hard sell voice] "Are you blind or going blind? If so, enroll in blah blah Braille School" left three or four times a day. Followed by two-second messages of random stuff like: "Wheelchairs are a big expense."

PAGE FORTY-SEVEN

TONY

Anyone threaten him explicitly?

SUSAN

Not really. But the messages started after Alex sent back a $700 bribe from a promoter who calls himself the Buzz.

TONY

Everyone mentions him. I'm even interviewing him tomorrow.

SUSAN

The Buzz agreed to talk?!

TONY

Actually, he's probably checking me out to see what I know.

SUSAN

[excited] Let's connect after. Come by after dinner. [Tony: "Sure.']

CUT TO:

EXT. THE BUZZ'S OFFICE -- AFTERNOON

Tony walks into a dilapidated building that houses the Buzz's office on West14th Street off 10th Ave. in the meat-packing district. There's a butcher shopin the first floor storefront and a police car parked out front.

PAGE FORTY-EIGHT

INT. THE BUZZ'S OFFICE -- AFTERNOON

Tony enters the Buzz's dark cluttered office, which looks as if time stopped in1959. On the walls are posters and pictures of music events of the Fifties,mostly local ones: "Flatbush Rockabilly Fest '56"; "The Roasters PlayConey Island"; "Free Alan Freed." The room doesn't have a reception deskor a computer and the clock on the wall is stopped at noon.

Seated behind a desk is Frank Buzzardi, a rough-looking, tough-talking guyaround 60 with tinted glasses, a full head of gray hair and acne scarring on hisface.

His assistant, Sammy Stompeto, is a thin, thirty-year-old, dark-haired guywearing all black and a gold chain around his neck. He looks a bit like abartender at a strip bar and walks with a slight limp.

THE BUZZ

Come in.

TONY

[taking a seat] Thanks for the interview.

THE BUZZ

Better interview me now, 'cause I'm an endangered species. You don't find 'em like me in the biz any more. [Yells to Sammy: "Sammy! My pills!"] Then to Tony: "Hypertension."

TONY

[Noticing tuning fork pens on his desk] Interesting pens.

PAGE FORTY-NINE

THE BUZZ

Ya want one? Promo thing for radio. See, I got character. Back in the Fifties, we was all characters. I was there at the birth of rock 'n' roll, staring down at the cradle, I sure was, when the babe was rattling 'n' rockin' for the first time. Today, the biz is all lawyers, accountants -- they don't know nothin' 'bout music. [Shouts: "Sammy!"]

Sammy, walking with slight limp, rushes in with the pills and a deferential,"Here, boss."

THE BUZZ

Hey, Sammy, you gonna do that brake adjustment this weekend?

SAMMY

If you want.

Sammy walks from the room.

THE BUZZ

Crack mechanic, Sammy is. The best in car repair before he came to work for me.

TONY

So how long have you been in the music business?

PAGE FIFTY

THE BUZZ

I started as a producer in the Bronx in '55, recording The Klezmers. The neighborhood was so rough back then you can hear gunshots from the street on our first record, if you listen close. We left the shots in. We useta joke that song was number five with a bullet -- literally! [laughs roughly] Later, I got into promotion, sold the studio, and worked with the Chevettes, J.B. Preston -- that was before he was with The Troubles -- and the Fontana Five.

TONY

I'm sure you've heard the accusation: some say you might've manipulated the charts over the years.

THE BUZZ

Look, it's my cocksuckin' job to manipulate them charts, okay?! [He pops a pill without water.] Every promoter everywhere manipulates them charts, that's why they pay us. I get paid to make my records number one, okay? Promoters get paid to promote, okay? My job is to do whatever I gotta do to get PDs, GMs, DJs, chart guys off the dime. [Shouts: "Sammy! Water!" We hear "Yes, boss," offscreen.]

TONY

I read in a newspaper where you were charged with payola in 1963 --

THE BUZZ

And proud of it. 'Cause payola should be legal, and them DJs should pay to play my records, I always say. Radio aint even good enough to play most my stuff!

PAGE FIFTY-ONE

TONY

There's also talk the murder of Alex Darrow was somehow linked to chart rackets.

THE BUZZ

I don't know nothing about no murder or no chart racket whatsoever. [Sammy brings him water, and the Buzz drinks it.]

TONY

Some have gone so far as to link the Darrow thing to you in some way.

THE BUZZ

Some people'll say anything about anybody. Don't make it true, do it? I'll let ya in on a secret, kid: no accuser is ever gonna stop Frank Buzzardi from conducting business. No way, no how, nowhere. I've survived since the Fifties, and not everyone did. I survived 'cause me and Morris and Hy and all them guys had a rule: you never let a manmess with your business. Me, I've always carried my own personal bodyguard. [He reaches to the small of his back and casually tosses a revolver on the desk.] He's named Smith & Wesson. Go ahead, touch it. It's a $25,000 custom-made .44. Bought with royalties from "Sweet Talk 'n' Jive."

TONY

[handling the gun] You ever shot someone with it?

PAGE FIFTY-TWO

THE BUZZ

I might. If some cocksucker comes up to me and wants my fuckin' wallet, you think I'm not going to blow his freakin' brains out? If some cocksucker tries to take away my business, I assure you he'll come down with some incurable gun-related disease, he sure will. [He takes the pistol back.]

THE BUZZ

Watch this.

Buzzardi gets a single bullet from a desk drawer, puts it into the revolver.

The phone rings.

SAMMY

[With phone in his hand] It's Daley at the Sixth.

THE BUZZ

I'll call him in five. [Turns to Tony.] Look, I'd like to talk more, but I gotta go.

TONY

Thanks for your time. By the way, you said Daley was on the phone. Was that Detective Daley of the Sixth Precinct?

THE BUZZ

Yeah, Daley. I known him for years. We shoot at the range together. [picks up the phone and starts dialing.]

TONY

Thanks again.

Sammy escorts Tony to the door, and we see a tight shot of Sammy. We seescarring on the right side of Sammy's head of the sort that might have beencaused by a bullet grazing.

PAGE FIFTY-FOUR

CUT TO:

EXT. BUZZ'S OFFICE BUILDING -- AFTERNOON

Tony walks from the building, where a police car is parked and two cops areeyeing him suspiciously.

CUT TO:

INT. SUSAN ADLER'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT

TONY

[Popping the cork from a Champagne bottle.] And so he pulls out a pistol. [imitating Buzzardi's gruff speech] "It's a $25,000 custom-made .44. Bought with royalties from "Sweet Talk 'n' Jive." [They both laugh.]

PAGE FIFTY-FIVE

SUSAN

Whatta thug. Sounds like some guy straight out of that book "Hit Men."

TONY

I was thinkin' that, too.

Tony pours Champagne for both of them, and they toast.

TONY

Here's to finding the guy who killed Alex.

SUSAN

You bet.

They clink glasses and sip Champagne.

TONY

Forgot to mention it, but I found this at the crime scene that night.

He pulls out a business card for The Steak Joint, an uptown Manhattaneatery.

TONY

Found it right next to Alex's body that night.

SUSAN

[looking at it curiously] Hmm.

PAGE FIFTY-SIX

TONY

But I checked out the place and it doesn't seem to link up to anything.

They walk out to the balcony, with flowers in pots and a view of WashingtonSquare Park.

TONY

How'd you get such a great apartment?

SUSAN

It's been handed down in the family for three generations.

TONY

It's like a movie set.

SUSAN

So you think Buzzardi was capable of killing --

TONY

Capable of anything. I mean, re-open the file on Amelia Earhart; he probably has her in a trunk.

They casually stroll back from the balcony to the apartment. Susan puts onsome music -- Bob Dylan's "She Belongs To Me" plays -- and they both sinkinto a deep pillowed couch, both slightly tipsy.

SUSAN

So you still having nightmares about that night?

PAGE FIFTY-SEVENTONY

Not anymore. And to tell the truth, there're some days when I wake up invigorated because I know I wasn't supposed to live to see this day. There's nothing like missing a bullet to make you feel so totally alive.

SUSAN

Know what you mean. Fuck survivor's guilt.

We hear a Dylan lyric from the stereo: "Meanwhile life outside goes on allaround you."

TONY

Can you believe the cop called it a possible black-on-black crime? I never really thought of Alex as black, even though he was.

SUSAN

Same here. When I had a tan, my arms were actually darker than Alex's.

TONY

Even my taste in music was blacker than his; I liked Melle Mel, he liked Zep. [pause] Did you know we were gonna room together in '80 but I didn't want to commit to a two-year lease?

SUSAN

That was you back then: afraid of commitment. You couldn't even decide whether you wanted to stay in New York or move back to Burbank.

Look, I've gotta run. You wanna go to that thing tomorrow at the Apollo, the Orphanheart show?

SUSAN

Sounds like fun. I love Sunday afternoon concerts. Three would be fine.

Tony leaves her apartment.

CUT TO:

EXT. SUSAN ADLER'S APARTMENT -- AFTERNOON

Susan bounds from her apartment smiling and wearing a multi-coloredflowered dress that's loose and airy, suggesting the quality of a cloud orballoon. She acts like someone glowing from having had sex the nightbefore. Tony is in his car at the curb, and Susan gets in.

PAGE SIXTY-ONE

INT. TONY'S CAR -- AFTERNOON

Tony begins driving from the Village to Harlem, taking the FDR Driveuptown. Windows are open, it's a sunny day and the radio plays JohnMellencamp's good-timey "Rumble Seat."

SUSAN

Haven't been to the Apollo since Sly Stone didn't show there in the Seventies.

TONY

Alex would've loved this gig.

SUSAN

He always liked going to concerts with you.

Tony is driving in the right lane on the FDR Drive when a station wagon (with someone in the back) pulls in front of him at a slow speed.

TONY

Crazy driver!

The station wagon slows even more, causing Tony to tailgate. We see the road aheadfrom Tony and Susan's POV through the windshield, while someone in theback of the station wagon opens the rear and throws a large plasticbag of thick red paint at them while shouting, "Next time it'll be blood,asshole!"

PAGE SIXTY-TWO

From the POV of looking out the windshield, suddenly the entire windshield turns bright red. Tony, not able to see through the front window, swerves to the side of the road while turning on the wipers, which just smear the paint into varying shapes and shades of red and pink. (We see this from inside the car, of course, and the smearing red paint is all we see on screen for a time.) Tony sticks his head out the side window to guide the car to the shoulder.

TONY

Can't see a damned thing!

SUSAN

What the hell was that?

TONY

Think it's red paint.

SUSAN

Did you hear what he shouted?

TONY

Yeah: "Next time it'll be blood."

They arrive at the curb, get out, and clean off most of the paint from thewindows and hood with rags.

TONY

Motherfucker could've fuckin' killed us!

After getting most of the paint off the windows, Tony throws down the ragsand looks at the mess all over his and Susan's clothes.

TONY

Looks like my Fiat's bleeding.

PAGE SIXTY-THREESUSAN

Shit. The dress is ruined!

TONY

We can't go to the show like this. What d'ya wanna do?

SUSAN

Should we file a police report?

TONY

Won't do any good. I'll talk to Daley about it later.

SUSAN

You think Geneva and Brendan might be home?

TONY

Let's head over.CUT TO:

INT. BRENDAN SKYE'S APARTMENT -- EVENING

They ring the bell to Brendan's apartment and Brendan answers the door.

BRENDAN

My god! What happened to you two?

GENEVA

I hope that's just paint. Come in.

PAGE SIXTY-FOUR

TONY

It's just paint. Its mostly dry, though you might wanna put some newspapers down on the carpet so we don't track anything in.

Brendan spreads some newspapers on the floor and chairs. Tony and Susanwalk in.

BRENDAN

Can I get you anything?

TONY

Water would be fine.

SUSAN

Same here.

BRENDAN

So what happened?

TONY

Someone threw a plastic bag of red paint at us on the FDR Drive.

SUSAN

Shouting something like, "Next time it'll be blood."

Geneva brings in water for everyone.

PAGE SIXTY-FIVE

BRENDAN

Sounds like vintage Buzzardi.

TONY

Tell me about it. But the cops won't listen to me. Cops act like I'm a suspect.

BRENDAN

Glad you brought that up, 'cause that's the rumor I'm hearing, too.

TONY

[enraged] How fuckin' dare they? I'm risking my neck to solve this and that's what I get?

BRENDAN

Calm down. It's just they see you with Susan.

TONY

So what? We're just friends.

BRENDAN

They don't know that.

TONY

What? They think my life is some sort of noir movie? I'm here for their tabloid entertainment? Meanwhile I'm going broke.

PAGE SIXTY-SIX

BRENDAN

No good deed goes unpunished, to coin a phrase. [Looks at watch.] I've got to pick up my car and head to Bear Mountain; I'm checking out The Confidentials in a couple hours.

He pulls over on Morningside Dr. where there's a hillside view of the city. Tony jumps out, opens the hood, looks inside and comes back in the car.

TONY

Let the engine cool a minute.

They sit in the car on the hill for a couple minutes and talk.

BRENDAN

So what else did Stan say?

TONY

[pause] He thinks the Buzz killed Alex.

BRENDAN

But he won't go on the record, right?

TONY

Right. There's so much evidence that cuts both ways. Like, Buzzardi's assistant has a limp like the gunman, but that might just be coincidence.

BRENDAN

I just don't see a happy ending to this.

TONY

Why ya say that?

PAGE SIXTY-NINE

BRENDAN

[distant look] I just have a bad feeling. [pause] Y'know, sometimes I wish I'd stayed a folksinger instead of getting into the biz. I mighta had a hit by now, if I'd stuck with it.

The car fills with an increasingly bright light from an undetermined source.

TONY

There's still time.

BRENDAN

It's too late. It's too late.

TONY

[Looks at watch.] We'd better roll.

He drives to Piney's Auto Repair Shop and drops off Brendan.

BRENDAN

Thanks for the ride.

TONY

Don't mention it.

BRENDAN

[smiles] Have fun at the party. And wear something a little less red!

PAGE SEVENTY

They both laugh mildly, and Tony drives off. A block away, Tony passes byThe Steak Joint restaurant, the same place on the business card he found atthe murder scene.

TONY

[mumbles to himself] Didn't know it was so close.

CUT TO:

EXT. 666 FIFTH AVENUE BUILDING -- NIGHT

Shot of the building and the "666" sign at the top.

INT. ANTEROOM OUTSIDE BALLROOM AT 666 FIFTH -- NIGHT

An attendant stands at a podium behind a red velvet rope holding the guestlist to the party.

ATTENDANT

[With Brooklyn accent] Your name, please?

TONY

Tony Armonica, freelance writer.

ATTENDANT

Harmonica?

TONY

No, Armonica. I'm on the Stigma Records list.

PAGE SEVENTY-ONE

ATTENDANT

Sorry, not here.

TONY

What do you mean? Vaccina Bayard put me on personally.

ATTENDANT

First name is Henry?

TONY

No, Tony. T-o-n-y. [Looks over at the guest list himself.] See! There it is.

ATTENDANT

You don't have to be nasty about it.

A security guard approaches.

GUARD

[To attendant] Is there a problem?

ATTENDANT

[To guard] No, I straightened him out. [To Tony] You can go in now.

Tony walks into the ballroom at 666 Fifth.

PAGE SEVENTY-TWO

INT. BALLROOM AT 666 FIFTH AVE. -- NIGHT

Tony walks into the party as a tape of Husker Du's "Never Talking to You"plays and goes to a table full of cold cuts. Standing next to him is JackWorstman, a bearded writer for Big Hitz. Tony picks up a plastic fork.

JACK WORSTMAN

[Hold up his hands in mock fright.] Don't kill me! Don't kill me!

TONY

So, Jack Worstman. What are you doing here? It's a cash bar.

JACK WORSTMAN

Very funny. I hear you're gonna stab Big Hitz in the back with your article. Some gratitude. They hired you when you were a nobody.

TONY

I'm simply investigating Alex's murder. And how come I'm the only one from the magazine who's coming forward about this thing? Which side are you on?

JACK WORSTMAN

Not on the side of the rats, I'll tell you that. [He shoves baloney in his mouth.]

TONY

No, you're busy with the snakes.

PAGE SEVENTY-THREE

JACK WORSTMAN

C'mon, the Darrow thing was random. Anyone walking down that street at that time of night woulda been shot. It was a spur-of-the-moment crime.

TONY

A guy wearing a ski mask is spur-of-the-moment? And chasing him down and not stealing anything? It was a hit, Worstman. [He points at Worstman with a plastic fork.] And you know it. And you're notdoing anything about it.CUT TO:

EXT. SUSAN'S APARTMENT BUILDING -- LATER THAT NIGHT

Tony walks across the street to Susan's apartment, and a police car at a redlight lurches forward as he walks in front of it.

INT. SUSAN'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT

TONY

Worst party I've been to in a long time. Talked to Jack Worstman.

SUSAN

What'd he have to say?

TONY

Still loyal to Big Hitz and Buzzardi, if you can believe it.

PAGE SEVENTY-FOUR

SUSAN

Gonna write up the party for Music News?

TONY

No. Assignment's canceled. My freelancing's going down the tubes because of this thing.

SUSAN

Y'know, if it's causing you this much grief, maybe you oughta consider dropping the story.

TONY

No way. I'm committed to the end.

SUSAN

But look what it's doing to you. You could lose everything because of a cause.

TONY

If I don't solve it, who will?

SUSAN

Now you're sounding like me.

TONY

And you're sounding like me.

PAGE SEVENTY-FIVE

Susan switches on the 11pm local news and fixes some coffee. Tony watchesthe news inattentively.

On the television screen there's live footage of a mountain cliff illuminated bypolice lights, and highway patrolmen looking down at a car that fell into adeep ravine.

NEWS ANCHOR (on television)

The car fell 100 feet down the cliff, killing the lone occupant whose identity is being determined at this hour.

WITNESS (on television)

[upset] He took the turn sharp and look terrified, like he was trying to pump the brake but it wouldn't stop. And he went right over the cliff.

ANCHOR (on television)

The incident happened around two hours ago on the main highway leading to Bear Mountain.

TONY

Wonder if Brendan saw this accident up on Bear Mountain.

Susan is still making coffee.

SUSAN

Huh?

PAGE SEVENTY-SIX

TONY

Some guy drove his car off a cliff right around where Brendan was tonight. Bet he saw the whole thing.

Susan comes out to watch.

SUSAN

How awful.

On the television, we see live footage of the mountainside where the car felland a zoom view of the smashed car at the bottom of the valley.

SUSAN

Oh my god, Tony! That's Brendan's Karmann Ghia!

TONY

It is! [He puts his hands over his face and cries.]

Susan hurls her coffee mug at the TV, smashing the screen.

CUT TO:

TITLE CARD: A month later.

INT. BRENDAN AND GENEVA'S APARTMENT -- AFTERNOON

Nearly everything in Brendan and Geneva's apartment is packed in boxes andstacked up, because Geneva is moving out. All the plants are in a corner nextto the "Brendan Skye Live at Folk City" poster. Geneva is visibly pregnantnow.

PAGE SEVENTY-SEVEN

GENEVA

Glad you could help with the move.

TONY

Wish I could do more.

GENEVA

I think it's the best thing for me to move in with Susan. Can't afford this place without Brendan anymore. And little Alex'll arrive in a few months.

TONY

I'm moving, too. Next month.

GENEVA

Really? Where to?

TONY

Don't know yet. I'm three months behind on the rent and not earning any money. I guess I'll try temporary housing for awhile.

In the sky outside the window is a single large cumulus cloud.

TONY

Have you talked to the police about Brendan?

PAGE SEVENTY-EIGHT

GENEVA

Just an accident, they say. And it might've been.

TONY

But the timing stinks.

GENEVA

So what's going to happen to you after next month?

TONY

I really don't know. I'm under a cloud till the case is solved.

GENEVA

Keep in touch, will you?

TONY

I will.

What follows is a series of fast forward glimpses of Tony's life through theNineties and the 2000s.

CUT TO:

TITLE CARD: 1994

INT. DENTIST OFFICE -- DAY

Tony reclines in a dentist's chair and the DENTIST is looking into his mouth.

PAGE SEVENTY-NINE

DENTIST

[shocked] Lord! When was the last time you saw a dentist?

TONY

Several years ago. I've been sort of broke for awhile.

DENTIST

The roots in a few teeth are almost gone. I can recommend an endodontist.

Tony's cell phone rings while he's in the chair.

TONY

Mind if I take this call?

DENTIST

Be my guest.

TONY (on phone)

Yeah. [pause] I'm trying to get the money to go. I haven't seen my relatives for years. [pause] Yeah, I'm losing touch with my roots. [pause] Look, I'm at the dentist right now. I'll call later. [pause] Okay, bye.

"Music promoter Frank 'The Buzz' Buzzardi was arrested today and chargedwith first degree murder in the 1987 slaying of Alex Darrow, former musiccharts manager for the Big Hitz trade magazine. The case, which had stymiedinvestigators for years, finally came to a close this morning when Buzzardi,now a 62-year-old casino pit boss, was captured by Las Vegas police on awarrant from New York. Investigators theorize Darrow was murderedbecause he refused to sell chart numbers for bribes."

PAGE EIGHTY-THREE

CUT TO:

EXT. SUSAN ADLER'S APARTMENT -- AFTERNOON

Tony knocks on Susan's apartment door. She opens it and looks at him withshock and tears in her eyes, hugging him with a rush of enthusiasm.

SUSAN

You're back! Come in. [Tony: "Thanks."]

Susan hugs him again.

SUSAN

We thought we'd lost you. Last I heard, you were in Mexico or something.

TONY

That was years ago. I'm okay now but there were some rough times.

He looks around the apartment and sees a combination of Susan's things andGeneva's. The Warhol portrait is still on the wall, Geneva's "Brendan SkyeLive at Folk City" poster is on another wall, and Geneva's plants areeverywhere.

In a corner are a collection of CDs and LPs, including, "The Tom Jones FeverZone."

SUSAN

Geneva's still here. And Alex, her son.

PAGE EIGHTY-FOUR

TONY

Alex must be --

SUSAN

He'll be sixteen next month. Can you believe it?

TONY

The view's the same. [He looks out over the balcony over Washington Square Park.] There's the arch.

SUSAN

Yeah but the twin towers are gone. We used to see them from the den.

TONY

Ever see the old crowd? Like Stan Tilden?

SUSAN

Not since 9/11. His brother Paul died in the south tower collapse, and Stan hasn't been the same since. He doesn't return my calls anymore.

TONY

Sorry to hear that.

PAGE EIGHTY-FIVE

Geneva walks in from the bedroom wearing an Indigo Girls t-shirt, her shorthair now grey. GENEVA

Tony! I can't believe it!

They hug.

GENEVA

You look great.

TONY

You, too.

A teenage kid who looks strikingly like a very young Brendan Skye comesfrom the den.

TEENAGER

Hi mom. I'm heading out to the show.

GENEVA

Alex, first say hello to Tony. He's an old family friend.

ALEX

Hi Tony.

PAGE EIGHTY-SIX

TONY

Hi Alex.

GENEVA

He'll be sixteen next month. And he's playing guitar and sings just like Brendan.

TONY

[to Alex] So what concert you going to?

ALEX

R.E.M. I'm reviewing it for my school paper.

TONY

[to Geneva] The more things change, huh?

GENEVA

You'd better get going, Alex.

ALEX

Nice meeting you, Tony. [Tony: "Same here."]

Alex walks out the door.

PAGE EIGHTY-SEVEN

We hear R.E.M.'s instrumental "Last Date" in the background.

TONY

I have some good news: I'm moving back to New York. That new magazine Music Dateline hired me as a writer.

SUSAN

Great. You're welcome to stay here until you find a place.

TONY

Thanks.

SUSAN

Did you hear the case got solved?

TONY

Oh, yeah. Buzzardi's in a cage. We were proved right.

SUSAN

You had it solved fifteen years ago. If only the cops had listened to you then.

TONY

Some people have a lot of explaining to do.

PAGE EIGHTY-EIGHT

SUSAN

Can you believe it's finally over?

TONY

Wish I could tell Brendan the good news.

Screen goes black and we hear the song "Heroes" by David Bowie.

TITLE CARD (before the credits roll):

The music business changed its method of compiling charts in 1990, a yearafter the murder on which some of this film is based. The industry now usesthe SoundScan system, which provides a more objective measure of recordunits sold.

The murder case on which parts of this film is based was finally solved after13 years of detective work in 2002, with the arrest of Nashville promoterRichard D'Antonio (aka, The Tone).